As the name suggests, the Mediterranean diet is a type of diet observed by people living along the Mediterranean Sea. Some countries, known to have a Mediterranean diet include Greece, Italy, Spain, and even France. This is a healthy eating plan based on some typical recipes and foods cooked in the Mediterranean style.
This diet incorporates the basics of healthy eating. Especially the flavorful olive oil which is included in almost every dish accompanied mostly with a glass of red wine. Various dishes of the Mediterranean diet include fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, whole grains, meat, etc.
History of the Mediterranean diet
The people around the Mediterranean Sea were living on this diet around the year 1960. Even though other modernized countries had moved on to eating more processed foods. At that time, this diet was thought of as the poor man’s diet. However, the people who stuck with the diet were found to have the lowest rates of chronic diseases and the highest adult life expectancy rates.
This despite the fact, that medical services were less prevalent in these regions compared to those in the more modernized areas of the world. In 1993, several institutions introduced the diet at a conference in the form of a pyramid. This included the Harvard School of Public Health and the World Health Organization. In the pyramid were foods that should be taken often at the bottom and those foods which should be taken less often at the top of the pyramid.
Foods included in the Mediterranean diet
Vegetables, grains, fruits and nuts
At the bottom of the pyramid are the planted foods which the Mediterranean diet recommends taking a lot of. In fact, the people who observed this diet ate as much as 9 servings of foods at the bottom of the pyramid in a day. Fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants and they help the remove toxins from the body. Grains were eaten too, but they were always taken a whole, mostly in the form of bread.
Whole bread does not have Trans – fats, and it was eaten without additives like margarine or butter. Olives are usually found along the Mediterranean, and they were used to make olive oil, which is healthy as well. Fruits provided energy and nutrients without the risk of Trans – fats, and so were nuts, which have non-saturated fat.
Seafood, poultry, eggs and cheese
Further up the pyramid are these foods, but they were taken less often. Fish and other seafood were common, and they provided essential omega-3 fatty acids. Cheese and eggs added to the nutritional value without stressing the cardiovascular system.
Meats
At the top are meats, which have plenty of saturated fats. These were taken only occasionally to reduce their negative effects.
Others
Other beverages taken in the Mediterranean diet included wine, which still remains a sensitive topic. This is because small amounts of alcohol can reduce blood pressure, but it has adverse effects in higher quantities.
Why is this diet good for the heart?
As you can see from the list of foods, there is a lot more emphasis on high-fat products like meat which is eaten only on certain occasion. On the other hand, fresh fruits and vegetables are eaten often, perhaps every day. It has been estimated that Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of heart diseases and cardiovascular problems in general. Mediterranean diet is known the lower the levels of LDL cholesterol, commonly known as the bad cholesterol.
This is while it increases the levels of HDL cholesterol, commonly known as the good cholesterol. By reducing the levels of LDL cholesterol, this diet helps prevent any cardiovascular problems. It especially prevents the formation of plaques in the blood vessels all over the human body, a process commonly known in medicine as atherosclerosis. Mediterranean diet is not good only for its heart health benefits.
It has been estimated that Mediterranean diet also reduces the risk of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, etc. A great part of the Mediterranean diet is also red wine. For many years, the health benefits of alcohol have been debated.
However, when consumed in moderate amounts, alcohol and especially red wine reduce the risk of heart problems and diseases. According to the Mediterranean diet, women are recommended to consume about 5 ounces of wine a day.
Men are recommended to consume about 10 ounces of wine a day. Drinking more than the recommended amount of wine is not recommended. It is not healthy for both men and women and it can also lead to an alcohol abuse, as well as, many other health problems.
